A Wilmington man fired last week from his job killed his wife, three daughters and two sons before committing suicide in their home Tuesday morning, police said.

In a two-page typed suicide letter faxed to a television news station, Ervin Antonio Lupoe, 40, wrote that he and his wife decided to kill themselves and their children after both were fired from their jobs at a West Los Angeles medical center.

The letter, as it was written, said: "So after a horrendous ordeal my wife felt it better to end our lives and why leave our children in someone's else's hands, in addition it seems Kiasercq Permanente want's us to kill ourselves and take our family with us."

Lupoe called KABC-TV and placed calls to its news desk and the LAPD's 911 center just before shooting himself at the family's home in the 1000 block of North McFarland Avenue, police said.

All of the victims were shot in the head, as was Lupoe, police said.

Lupoe, fired last week from his job as an X-ray technician at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in West Los Angeles, wrote in his letter that a supervisor rebuffed him when he tried to talk about his job status, suggesting, "You should have blown your brains out."

His wife, Ana Elizabeth Lupoe, also was fired sometime earlier from her job as a mammography technician.

At the end of his letter, Lupoe handwrote, "Oh Lord my God is there no hope for a widow's son!" Among Mormons and Masons, that statement is considered an urgent call for help.

It was unclear whether Lupoe killed his family before or after the 8:25 a.m. phone calls, but neighbors reported hearing shots at about 5:30 p.m. Monday and 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.

In one conversation with KABC Channel 7, Lupoe said he was going to kill his family. But in a call to the LAPD's 911 center, he said he had come home and found his family murdered, Los Angeles Deputy Police Chief Kenneth Garner said.

Officers arriving at the house minutes later detected the scent of freshly fired gunshots and discovered a revolver beside Lupoe's body. His 8-year-old daughter, Brittney, and twin 5-year-old daughters, Jaszmin and Jassely, were dead next to him.

Police found the same faxed suicide letter in the home, indicating his dispute with his former employer.

"It looks like there may have been grounds for the termination," Los Angeles police Capt. William Hayes said.

Neighbors, school officials and an attorney who represented the Lupoes in a lawsuit stemming from a traffic accident said they had no clue what was to come Tuesday.

"This was just shocking, very shocking," Long Beach attorney Bob Pierce said. "I met this couple a month ago. I sat down with them and talked with them for two hours and there was not a hint of a problem. I'm stunned."

Pierce said Lupoe left him a message Monday that he received Tuesday morning. Lupoe did not seem upset in his message, but Pierce said the information he relayed "absolutely, positively bears on this story."

He would not elaborate.

The couple's three oldest children were enrolled at Crescent Heights Boulevard Elementary School, several blocks from the Westside medical facility where their parents worked.

Los Angeles Unified School District officials said the Lupoes pulled their children from school about 10 days ago and said they were moving to Kansas.

She described the Lupoes as very active at the campus. She spoke to Lupoe when he withdrew his children.

"Nothing seemed to be troubling him," Pownders-Caver said. "He seemed to be fine."

On his Facebook page, Lupoe displayed photographs of his smiling children, posing for the camera and practicing martial arts, along with snapshots of his barbecue, backyard play area, and the stone countertops and decorative tile in their bathroom.

The page also indicated Lupoe frequently played online poker.

But something was wrong.

Hawthorne resident Delores Mackerl-Jackson said the Lupoe family sat next to her in a booth at the Red Lobster in Torrance on Jan. 17.

She recalled the twins when she saw the family's photographs.

"They all seemed kind of tense and very quiet," Mackerl-Jackson said. "I wondered at the time what was wrong. My husband and I even commented that the wife looked stressed. We assumed the kids were a lot of work for her."

"Well, my wife and I were being investigated for misrepresentation of our employment to an outside agency for the benefit to ourselves's, childcare," Lupoe wrote. "When after we had our initial interview on Dec. 19 th. It seems our fat with the company had been decided on Dec. 22 nd, yet on the 23rd, I was told by my administrator, (redacted) that, 'You should not even had bothered to come to work today you should have blown your brains out.'"

Lupoe contacted his union representative, who told him to report the incident to human resources. The supervisor denied making the claim.

Two days later, the couple was fired, he wrote.

"We returned Kiaser Permanente's property prior to leaving the facility, yet the company could not provide us with our license's so that we may look for other employment. I let the (redacted) of the facility know what was occurring yet she stated there was nothing she could do," he wrote.

Kaiser Permanente officials released a statement, but did not refer to Lupoe's claims.

"We are deeply saddened to hear of the tragic deaths of Ervin Lupoe and his wife and family," the statement said. "Our sympathies are with all of their extended family and friends at this time. - We are cooperating with the Los Angeles Police Department, which is investigating the case."

Records show Lupoe is licensed by the state to carry firearms and batons, and held a license to work as a security guard through 2007.

Court records show that the Lupoe family was involved in a lawsuit stemming from a car accident in May 2006 in Wilmington.

His attorney described the traffic accident as minor and said family members were set to receive a small settlement. The case was scheduled for court today.cq

At the time of the crash, Ana Lupoe was pregnant with the younger twins, while the older kids were with them in the car, Pierce said.

Court documents identified the other passengers as Brittney, Jassely and Jaszmin Lupoe.

Neighbors expressed shock at the news.

"He was a nice guy," said Tony de la Torre. "He added to the house recently and showed me the addition."

Another neighbor found it hard to find the right words.

"The way I've seen this family, this is an odd moment for them," Art Smith said.